the biggest one for me is education, obviously, because i'm on the school board, and i feel he's not paying near as much attention as he should to the educational system. >> what comfort cares about has >> reporter: what comfort cares about has instead been drowned out by the campaigns selling competing visions to iowans. the differing philosophies on job creation, the economy, and the role of government are clashing in newton, iowa. this is the birthplace of the washing machine, where maytag made its home for decades. in 2007, it became the town maytag left behind, when it closed its headquarters, moved operations to mexico. newton lost about 1,800 jobs and millions from its local economy. >> our main focus for newton right now is... is getting people back to work as well as jasper county. so, i mean, our focus is... is employment. >> reporter: chaz allen has been mayor here for nine years, we caught up with him after a charity motorcycle ride. he says two companies have moved into newton, building windmill towers and turbines and employing almost 1,000 people. allen's support is sq